THE Queensland Firebirds executed a huge victory over the reigning premiers NSW Swifts on Saturday afternoon, dominating all throughout the contest and flying down court with newfound confidence. While the Swifts had their chances, the Firebirds were clinical and put on a show across the court, coming away with a magnificent 13-goal victory (77-64).

An even start saw both sides fire from all cylinders, with Romelda Aiken a tough mark and given far too much space early while Lara Dunkley proved she is more than capable of a starting spot on court. While the last line of Firebirds defence did not manage to win back a huge amount of ball early, the midcourt defence from the home side blocked Swifts vision down court and limited easy movement through the centre. Confusing space well, Tara Hinchliffe and Kim Jenner started cleanly to negate the smooth moving of Helen Housby on return from injury. While both sides were mostly accurate to post, neither side could really hit their targets as the loose ball continued to fly, seeing a heap of argy bargy to open the match. 

Maddy Turner had a great start, unafraid of the contest but adding penalties to her tally as she did so. At the other end, Sam Wallace was strong as ever not just on the hold but also the take, firing well at the post. While possession was well in the way of the Firebirds, the Swifts were more efficient with ball in hand and made the most of their opportunities. Racking up the penalties, Sophie Craig got an early caution for persistent obstruction, while the Firebirds continued to add to their tally to register a six goal lead heading into the final minutes of the quarter. The Firebirds’ transition down court was with plenty of speed, not allowing the Swifts a chance at getting hands over the ball. A seven-goal lead went the way of the Firebirds heading into the second.

The second quarter saw Paige Hadley head to wing defence, taking on the fast starting Dunkley. The Swifts continued to struggle finding connection down the court but were shooting at 100 per cent accuracy, making the most of their opportunities but overall wasting the ball they gained back. Aiken continued to have a blinder out the front, finding space with ease at the post while Tippah Dwan was confident to put the ball up front anywhere with Aiken on the rebound.

The Swifts began to win ball back and find better space in attack, chipping away at the margin as the defensive unit shook things and seeing a great deflection from Sarah Klau attacking the ball pay off. Lauren Moore was injected into goal defence following a tactical timeout, while Housby continued to zip around, showing no sign of soreness following a calf strain. Housby was unafraid to enter the defensive stats turning over the ball on a defensive centre, with the injection of Maddy Proud into centre well and truly paying off. With a smaller margin and both sides in with a chance of stealing momentum, both the Swifts and Firebirds put up super shots seeing just Dwan successful despite the Swifts’ efforts. Despite the Swifts getting the margin to three goals, Dean’s sharpshooting saw a nine goal lead extend for the Firebirds heading into half time. 

The third saw the Firebirds start well once more, putting the Swifts on the back foot and Dwan having an excellent purple patch early with heavy defence on Aiken. Errors continued to plague the Swifts, with wayward passes and wasted opportunities at the post from Wallace and Sophie Garbin. The Swifts attack unit was not a fan of the Firebirds’ physicality, allowing Jenner and Hinchliffe to get a look at some turnover ball, while Dean’s ability to draw the attention of the Swifts defenders allowed Aiken to have even bigger an impact. Proud’s improved confidence on the drive was huge through attack, although defensively it did not appear the Swifts were coping with the onslaught and pressure lacking through the centre third. The Swifts did not seem like themselves, having to be more patient than usual to counteract the hesitance the Firebirds were forcing on them. 

Where the Firebirds have tended to lead early and ease off throughout the game, they were a new-look side in this matchup, moving much better and charging at every single opportunity to get hands to ball. While individually the Swifts seemed to be firing up, as a full court they just could not seem to link up well leaving the loose ball alone and allowing the Firebirds to continue to power ahead seeing a 10-goal lead at the final change. 

Housby did every single thing she could in the final quarter to power her side into action, but the continued defensive pressure from Gabi Simpson and Mahalia Cassidy forced errant passes into the Swifts goal circle, combining effortlessly while Jenner and Hinchliffe were in everything. Aiken continued to run rings around Klau, with the goal keeper seemingly unable to decipher the towering goal shooter’s next move. While Wallace and Housby continued to fire on all cylinders, they just were not getting the amount of ball back that they needed to add to the goal tally, with a 13-goal lead the way of the Firebirds and eight minutes on the clock.

The Firebirds forced the Swifts to go for super shots, winning off rebounds while Dwan sunk another super shot with ease, proving how much pressure was on the Swifts unit which was raining attempts but lacking accuracy. Youngster Dwan continued to shine, sinking three super shots in the final term for a huge 13-goal victory (77-64) against the reigning premiers. This match saw the Firebirds win all four quarters for the first time since 2018, proving how massive this match was in terms of their growth.

Dwan was player of the match after a huge output resulting in 26 goals at 84 per cent (eight super shots), 37 centre pass receives and 14 assists, also managing one intercept and two pickups showcasing her ability to have an impact across the court. Aiken topscored with 43 goals from 44 attempts, while Wallace was not far behind on 41 from 42 but missing four of her six super shot attempts. Through the midcourt, Dunkley led the stats sheet for assists with 21, followed by Cassidy (18) and Proud (17), while in a very attack heavy game Hinchliffe was the only player to register more than one intercept with two to her name contributing to her five gains. 

>> SWIFTS TEAM PAGE

>> FIREBIRDS TEAM PAGE

>> FULL MATCH STATS

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NSW SWIFTS 12 | 18 | 18 | 16 (64)
QUEENSLAND FIREBIRDS 19 | 20 | 19 | 19 (77)

Swifts

GS: Sam Wallace
GA: Helen Housby
WA: Nat Haythornthwaite
C: Paige Hadley
WD: Sophie Craig
GD: Maddy Turner
GK: Sarah Klau

Firebirds

GS: Romelda Aiken
GA: Tippah Dwan
WA: Lara Dunkley
C: Mahalia Cassidy
WD: Gabi Simpson
GD: Kim Jenner
GK: Tara Hinchliffe